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Tag: malaria

Field Relevant Variation in Ambient Temperature Modifies Density-Dependent Establishment of Plasmodium falciparum Gametocytes in Mosquitoes

Donna Huber on November 15, 2019

The relationship between Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte density and infections in mosquitoes is central to understanding the rates of transmission with important implications for control. Here, we determined whether field relevant variation in environmental temperature could also modulate this relationship. Anopheles stephensi were challenged with three densities of P. falciparum gametocytes spanning a ~10-fold gradient, and housed under diurnal/daily temperature range …

Anibamine and Its Analogues: Potent Antiplasmodial Agents from Aniba citrifolia

Donna Huber on October 2, 2019

In our continuing search for novel natural products with antiplasmodial activity, an extract of Aniba citrifolia was found to have good activity, with an IC50 value less than 1.25 μg/mL. After bioassay-directed fractionation, the known indolizinium alkaloid anibamine (1) and the new indolizinium alkaloid anibamine B (2) were isolated as the major bioactive constituents, with antiplasmodial IC50 values of …

Metabolic dependency of chorismate in Plasmodium falciparum suggests an alternative source for the ubiquinone biosynthesis precursor

Donna Huber on September 26, 2019

The shikimate pathway, a metabolic pathway absent in humans, is responsible for the production of chorismate, a branch point metabolite. In the malaria parasite, chorismate is postulated to be a direct precursor in the synthesis of p-aminobenzoic acid (folate biosynthesis), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (ubiquinone biosynthesis), menaquinone, and aromatic amino acids. While the potential value of the …

David Peterson to present at Athens Science Cafe

Donna Huber on September 24, 2019

Learn more about malaria and current efforts to eliminate this disease from CTEGD faculty member David Peterson. The Athens Science Cafes, sponsored by the Athens Science Alliance, meets at Little Kings Shuffle Club on W. Hancock Ave. The talk will start at 7 pm on Thursday, September 26. Read more in the Athens Science Observer.

Clinically silent relapsing malaria may still pose a threat

Donna Huber on September 23, 2019

The immune system can control a relapsing form of malaria enough to avoid clinical signs of disease, but it doesn’t eliminate transmissible parasites from the body that may still be infectious to mosquitoes. That’s the conclusion of a study on a nonhuman primate model of Plasmodium vivax infection, which has implications relevant to malaria elimination strategies. Keep …

The ER chaperone PfGRP170 is essential for asexual development and is linked to stress response in malaria parasites

Donna Huber on May 14, 2019

The vast majority of malaria mortality is attributed to one parasite species: Plasmodium falciparum. Asexual replication of the parasite within the red blood cell is responsible for the pathology of the disease. In Plasmodium, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a central hub for protein folding and trafficking as well as stress response pathways. In this study, we tested …

Distinct amino acid and lipid perturbations characterize acute versus chronic malaria

Donna Huber on May 2, 2019

Chronic malaria is a major public health problem and significant challenge for disease eradication efforts. Despite its importance, the biological factors underpinning chronic malaria are not fully understood. Recent studies have shown that host metabolic state can influence malaria pathogenesis and transmission, but its role in chronicity is not known. Here, with the goal of …

Field evaluation of malaria malachite green loop-mediated isothermal amplification in health posts in Roraima state, Brazil

Donna Huber on March 25, 2019

Fig. 1 Summary of enrolled patients and sample processing BACKGROUND: Microscopic detection of malaria parasites is the standard method for clinical diagnosis of malaria in Brazil. However, malaria epidemiological surveillance studies specifically aimed at the detection of low-density infection and asymptomatic cases will require more sensitive and field-usable tools. The diagnostic accuracy of the colorimetric …

Lysyl-tRNA synthetase as a drug target in malaria and cryptosporidiosis

Donna Huber on March 20, 2019

Malaria and cryptosporidiosis, caused by apicomplexan parasites, remain major drivers of global child mortality. New drugs for the treatment of malaria and cryptosporidiosis, in particular, are of high priority; however, there are few chemically validated targets. The natural product cladosporin is active against blood- and liver-stage Plasmodium falciparum and Cryptosporidium parvum in cell-culture studies. Target deconvolution in P. falciparum has …

Targeted Inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinase 1 with a Constrained J Domain-Derived Disruptor Peptide

Donna Huber on February 19, 2019

To explore the possibility of constrained peptides to target Plasmodium-infected cells, we designed a J domain mimetic derived from Plasmodium falciparum calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 ( PfCDPK1) as a strategy to disrupt J domain binding and inhibit PfCDPK1 activity. The J domain disruptor (JDD) peptide was conformationally constrained using a hydrocarbon staple and was found …